On 23 March, I attended a seminar where the initial results of the report “Changes in the EU climate policy – consequences for the Polish economy” were discussed. The report had been prepared by a team of experts from the Warsaw School of Economics (SGH) led by Prof. Grażyna Wojtkowska-Ładej. The work on the report had been co-funded by the British Embassy. 
The seminar presentations dealt with individual aspects of the Climate and Energy Package adopted in December 2008 and their potential impact on the Polish economy. Apart from some negative consequences, such as for instance, a rise of energy prices, examples of positive impact were also given. In the long term, investment in modern low carbon technology will not only make it possible to reduce CO2 emissions by Polish enterprises but it may also help improve the competitiveness of Poland as compared to other economies. One of the arguments used was that there was a great room for emissions reduction in Polish economy.
During the seminar, a lot of time was devoted to the improvement of energy efficiency. The experts were of the opinion that Poland should have no problems with fulfilling the EU requirements in this area. As far as I am aware, it is exactly this element of the package that has become the main priority of the Polish energy policy “Polish energy policy by 2030”, that is now taking shape. It was interesting to hear during the seminar that the UK was named as a possible source of good practice in energy efficiency improvement.
The experts also found a lot of potential in renewable sources of energy (RE). The findings of the Report show that even though the renewable sources of energy do raise the cost of energy, they also offer a range of possibilities, including creation of new jobs in renewable energy sector or increased income from export of biomass.
The Climate and Energy Package poses a number of challenges for Poland. Some seminar participants emphasised that the Package did not really lead to achieving the goals connected, e.g., with energy security and that the EU Emissions Trading Scheme was not business friendly. The fact that the Package had drawn attention to the specific character of the economies in this part of Europe was quoted as a positive side of the compromise reached in December 2008 in Brussels.
The report by SGH experts, even though it does not analyse all the details of the Climate and Energy Package and all the materials available on the subject, may become an important stimulus for debate, not only among academics but also in the business community or in government circles. I look forward to following these discussions.
The report will soon be translated into English, which will make it available as a source material for other international events. By the end of April it will also appear in an electronic version.
Posted at 14:51 03 April 2009 by Agnieszka Tomaszewska | Comments[0]
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